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Caravan: Resurrection

Zay yanked his head sideways as if to say 'oh well' before making himself comfortable. And then Flin, in the most ungraceful way possible, fell from the ladder. Falling was already bad enough. The fact that he didn't sustain any injuries at all was unbelievable. But his excuse afterwards? It was quite literally one of the stupidest things Zay had heard in his entire life.

"Flin, we're allowed to make a few little mistakes here and there," Zay mumbled into a yawn, "But could you not act like a moron? I'm lax about most things, but I won't tolerate immature or idiotic behavior, especially lying." He paused and turned to him. "That includes making buffoonish excuses like you're some character out of a children's storybook." Noru snickered at Zay's comment. Marilyn didn't care one way or the other, keeping her head straight forward.

"I'll play a few rounds," Noru conceded. His mood had taken a sudden turn for the better. He sat in a chair so that the table was evened out, making sure that the others couldn't peek at his hands. "What are we playing?"

A Hero Tale {Complete}

~ Chapter 210 ~

_{Gideon, He Who Cuts}

Zelraka looked towards Jeff and Bruce- Or rather, this new Gideon, with a hint of true curiosity. He wondered exactly what happened. His own fusion was impermanent, and only succeeded through the connection they shared in the void. While it wouldn't be impossible for others to do the same, it would have been extremely difficult. He floated there with a soft, relaxed smile as Gideon saved Zios from certain death. It would be rude to interrupt the man's introduction. That part of Zelriane was still very present in Zelraka. Despite Rajaka's overpowered anger, Zelrian's reasoning seemed like it won the tug of war, in exchange for his serious demeanor.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

The cracks suddenly coursed along the entire surface of Yzeira's outer barrier, until the entire thing shattered like glass. Jenso's trajectory sent him plummeting straight into the gravity well above him at top speeds, but the sheer energy radiating from his body push the crimson waves away, sending him directly through the giant mass until he reached the other side. A hole was left in his wake, and the energy began to crumble, before erupting into a massive explosion. But now the rain has stopped, but shards of Yzeira's energy, now crystallized, fell from above like pieces of shattered glass.

Jenso had not escaped unscathed, though. Despite his best efforts, the energy of the gravity well licked at his body as he passed through. That, in conjunction with the energy he'd just expended, put him in a terrible position.

And he'd still been unable to land a single hit on the Chaotic leader of the order of Chaos.

Yzeira's bodies slowly walked closer to one another, restoring one sphere at a time as Jenso almost reached the outer edge of the tower's sealed dimension. They had floated so high by now, that they were almost in space. The masked man lowered his head and shook it from side to side in unison with his clone.

"The end can't be too far off."

---

~ End Of Chapter 209 ~

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Escaping the barrier was one thing. Escaping the gravity well was another entirely. The barrier around them cracked as Jenso contacted its edge. But it didn't break. He pushed and pushed, and the cracks grew larger, but still no success. By now the gravity well was closing in. There was no hope.

"Was that it?" Yzeira quipped.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

The homing lasers from earlier crashed into the side of Jenso's newly created barrier a few moments after he'd erected it, denting it severely with the first two hits, and then breaking it open with the third. Before that, Yzeira waited patiently in place for Jenso's attack to fire off. His fist made contact with the barrier in a flash of fire and light, sending cracks sprawling around nearly 70% of its surface area from front to back. But as soon as the whips launched forwards, each one was deflected, unable to pierce the barrier while leaving no additional impact. His orbs were of course, contained within. As Jenso launched his fruitless effort, the clone fully restored his orb supply, and gave Jenso a curious glance while his barrier repaired itself.

"I feel a little more like myself, now."

Yzeira rose his right hand above Jenso's head, and took a step back, placing the other hand on what remained of his barrier. All 7 of his spheres jumped into his body, and suddenly Jenso's entire barrier took on a red hue, and the hole created earlier by Yzeira's attack was sealed, while the floor below them was covered in a layer of red energy as well, trapping both of them inside. The hand he aimed above Jenso had a different goal in mind. It was now pulling the gravity sphere towards both of them. All the while, it doubled, tripled... no, Quintupled in size, while his other body channeled all 7 of its orbs into it.

"I'm sure you know this, but my energy cannot harm me."

The sphere of energy approached them at an alarming speed.

"Likewise, My energy can phase through itself."

The sphere continued to fall.

"With your immaculate intelligence, I'm sure you can deduce..."

The barrier around the two of them thickened even more...

"...What comes next."

A Hero Tale {Complete}

The body near Jenso's wall-turned-saw ignored the oncoming attack at first. Instead, it clenched its hand, causing the energy around Jenso to explode, destroying his outer shield almost immediately, but inflicting insignificant damage to his body. Even so, it became clear that enough of those homing attacks in succession would prove cumbersome, if not entirely lethal.

As the saw exploded, Yzeira's targeted body rose one hand and expelled several hundred miniatures lasers at point blank towards the resulting flurry of saws. Each and every one was destroyed as the lasers struck their centers, but the attack didn't stop there. Right afterwards, the storm of energy bolts joined together into 5 streams, and began to chase after Jenso, slowly catching up to his speed. At the same time, the body controlling them began to restore its orb count, from 3 to 5.

The other body, with all 7 orbs surrounding it once again, aimed one hand at the gravity mass that was being bombarded from within the barrier. Suddenly, the shield collapsed on itself and was sucked into the well within. But when Jenso's energy was completely dissipated, the remaining orb was much smaller than before, back to its original size. Yzeira, of course, began to increase its size once again. Jenso's efforts would be erased shortly, and Yzeira had an infinite pool of energy to draw from. Despite his new boost in power, and ability to visibly damage Yzeira's barriers, things were not looking to be in his favor.

Worst of all, Yzeira's hair was beginning to return to its normal hue...

A Hero Tale {Complete}

When the gravity sphere was encompassed, Jenso was released from its pull immediately. But it only took a few seconds for the barrier that he projected to begin caving in on itself. It wouldn't hold for long. The shards that went after each of Yzeira's bodies shared a similar fate, in that they had very little effect.

Yzeira's cracked barrier did not leave any room for the shards to penetrate. Instead, the bounced off and hovered nearby as the series of explosions sounded off. After the smoke cleared, the barrier had already fully regenerated, and had no cracks to show for it. The explosive nature of his attacks expelled force too unevenly to inflict a serious amount of damage, and trying to worm into the cracks was foolish while Yzeira was there to actively deflect smaller attacks.

The other clone saw the attacks coming as well. There was no point in hiding the onslaught from his eyes. Before the shards could erupt fully from the ground, Yzeira twisted his ankle and sent a shock wave through the roof, evaporating more than half of them as they emerged, while also flattening the ground he stood on before it could come anywhere near upsetting his balance. The wall served zero purpose, as well. Yzeira could see through it. It didn't matter though, he ran around it and focused on Jenso as he was released from the orb's pull, once again conjuring energy around his body with one hand. A red glow encompassed Jenso and followed him as he moved, but this time, Yzeira had taken 2 orbs into his body, and began to conjure something in his other hand, leaving him with 3. The other body took the moment of reprieve to restore his orbs to full power, while also taking one into his body, preparing something opposite to his clone.

Caravan: Resurrection

'Mandatory?' Noru thought to himself. No wonder Daelin got along with Zay. They both seemed a little too care-free for his taste. Of course as soon as he'd heard Daelin's offer, Zay was sitting down at the table with his hands eagerly tapping against the wood. He had a ration stuck in his mouth and narrow eyes. The Captain loved playing cards.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

The body within the barrier took another orb into itself, leaving him at 5. The second shock wave followed shortly after, shattering the barrier around him and dissolving its energy in the process. With the clone free, he could act as he pleased once again.

But Yzeira's other body was in an astounding position now. Jenso took the brunt of his laser head on, forcing him back and upwards into the sky above them, and subsequently, towards the gravity sphere that grew in the sky. Yzeira followed his body as it rose towards the sphere with his laser, consistently bathing him in the destructive energy of the attack. But within a few seconds, it began to weaken until its brightness had faded to a deep red transparent hue. A smile had crossed his face by now, forcing him into an uncharacteristically narrow focus on Jenso's body, but his clone noticed the incoming attack before it was too late. It rose both its hands towards the other body as the drill made contact with its shield, and a bright light erupted from the impact point. Jenso on the other hand, was now being pulled towards the intensely powered gravity well from above.

After the light cleared, what remained of the inferno drill was dispelled by a small pop of red energy. From where it struck Yzeira's barrier, several cracks sprawled up and around, covering nearly 30% of the sphere's surface. The cracks slowly sealed themselves, but the body inside seemed taken aback by the realization that his perfect defense was not as perfect as it seemed.

Caravan: Resurrection

"That would land you a stable income, if there was any demand for metal in Arcadia. As it stands, the only minerals that aren't already abundant can't be created through raw elemental crafting alone. Perhaps it was best for you to join up with the Arcadian knights. Caravan parts aren't exactly compact. In the case of a catastrophic failure, having somebody like you around would be a godsend." Noru straightened his back and looked towards the front of the Caravan as Flin left. "But in any case, patience is the most important trait that any knight can have. Without it, you'd be better off in the slums."

Marilyn didn't notice Flin pass behind him. She was focused on keeping the Venbu steady. It was especially important on these busy roads. Accidents happened more often than the government liked to admit, usually because new pilots underestimate how unpredictable Venbu can be with the wrong tug of their reigns.

On top of the Cart, Flin could see only parts of the outer districts through the cover of large buildings. Near the Ivory Pillar's military barracks were industrial zones, dedicated to producing food and raw materials for the rest of the city. Some of the larger buildings functioned like factories, creating enough food to surplus for months in the case of famine. Others were more compact, and dedicated to making specialty products like watches, magical appliances, and other interesting contraptions. Arcadia wasn't exactly known for its technology though. Very few of the buildings they passed by were anything more than labor factories. Centaurus was just about to leave the upper industrial district now. It came across a large wide open gateway that lead into the first commercial district. A few knights hailed them as they passed by, while nearby civilians looked up at the Caravan with mixed thoughts. Most citizens knew the need for their Caravans and held a great amount of respect for their knights. Others were indifferent. Some were resentful. To the untrained eye though, they all looked to have the same reaction.

Flin's view opened up immensely once they made it several yards into the commercial district. The tallest buildings were behind them, and they were still atop one of the highest districts in Arcadia's layered Nation. Looking down at the collection of buildings below was like scouring a hill from the top. With nothing but rooftops to show for it though, the sight wasn't all too spectacular unless you knew where to look. Part of the excitement was ripped away when the giant white walls of the Nation came into view. A lot of people weren't fond of the defensive ramparts, even if they kept them safe from the outside world. After a while, Arcadia's interior could become ugly and cold. Without the right to ride a Caravan, you wouldn't every get a chance to see the lushness of Thoris' jungles or the wide open seas. The knights weren't exactly handing out field trips, after all.

Zay pushed his way back inside the Caravan and walked past everyone else towards the storage area. He just realized something very important. They hadn't closed the back of the Caravan. Its giant metal slab of a gate was hanging loosely behind it, bouncing uncontrollably over the bumps. He rolled his eyes, carefully stepped onto the metal door, and grabbed one of the chains with both hands before yanking the entire gate shut with a loud click. Noru looked back at him and shook his head.

"I was wondering when he would notice that."

"You guys coulda' done something, or said something," Zay grunted from behind the storage room walls, opening one of the barrels in the back.

"Captain's duties," Noru quipped. Zay peered past the doorway with his mouth half open and his finger raised, as if to scold Noru. But he ended up gritting his teeth and waggling his finger into a fist while turning away. It was technically his fault.

* * *

12:00 AM
Marrenfall - Town of Unesa, the Seventh Church of Maeti

The mass for Maeti had just ended, right on schedule. It was sparse for a morning mass that christened the new month. But people seemed eager to leave, especially the youngest attendees. One woman refused however, firmly planted in her seat at the front of the temple while the Paladin Priest was preparing for the afternoon attendance. She sat with her head tilted slightly forward, buried in her hands as she muttered something barely audibly under her breath. Her husband sat next to her patiently, checking his watch every minute while he waited for her to finish.

_{"...Bless the knowledge that flows...Keep them safe...Return...To us without harm..."} Her husband tried to gently rush her to the end of the prayer, but as he brushed her pale hair aside, the woman pulled away from him and continued frantically, whispering even faster to herself. He couldn't even see his wife's face through her thick, snow white hair. This past year had been the hardest for them. Two daughters and one son had left Unesa in search of something greater, all without a single word to either of the people who raised them. Francis Patten understood it. They were at that age. Unesa was a small town, barely sturdy enough to contain the dreams of those who wished for more in life. Though it was one of the most well-taught locations in Marrenfall, most of its citizens subscribed to the church and dedicated more of their time to prayer than any sort of advancements. Francis' wife was one of those people, too obsessed with the idea that her children may return one day to maintain her duties adequately. Her job wasn't too physically demanding, but while she had her head up in the clouds, the Unesa Library had become a jaded shadow of its former glory. Books went missing, the stacks were unorganized, and donations were at an all time low. If it wasn't for the fact that the Library's owner was equally as devout, Maribelle would have lost her occupation ages ago. Idiots love company, Francis thought to himself. That's how the saying went, right? Or was it misery love company. Either would work just as well in this case. This past year had been nothing but misery for him. Maribelle was miserable company to keep. She didn't seem to care about him in the least, and honestly, the same could be said for him. If this went on any longer, Francis had no intention of sticking around.

"It's 5 minutes past 12," Francis whispered, tapping his watch impatiently. Maribelle slowly rose from the cover of her palms and looked that the statue of Maeti with wet eyes. Those statues were a complete sham. Every church in Marrenfall had a different depiction of the Paladin god. But she didn't know, or care. Faith could do crazy things to a person's reasoning. Maribelle turned her head towards Francis with a saddened expression, and then turned away to gather herself. Without a word, she finally arose and made her way towards the exit. Francis sighed and trailed closely behind.